Publishing an app is not just about Apple and Google. In order to publish an app most likely, you will need several accounts, including space for your server, payment processor, text message automation, and others.
Required for everyone
Developer account
First of all, you cannot publish an app without signing up for Apple or Android developer program.
If you are developing an app for iPhone or iPad you will need to sign up for Apple Developer Program. Apple will charge you $99/year to keep the membership active and your app live on the App Store.
If you are developing an app for Android you will need to sign up for Android Developer Program. Google will charge you a one time fee of $25 to enroll in the program.
Server
Second, if your app has users or any other type of database that will be stored on the server you will need to have hosting (server) and a domain name. There are multiple providers for both. For server we suggest you use Amazon AWS and for domain name you can use Google.
Depends on the app
Credit card payment
If your app will need to process credit and debit cards you will need to sign up with a payment processor. The two largest companies in the space are Braintree and Stripe. They will be in charge of storing all the billing information from your clients and actually processing transactions.
Text messages
If your app has text message phone verification or will send text messages of any kind the chances are you’ll need to sign up for Twilio. Twilio is perhaps the largest company that provides text messages automation and if you need to send any automatic text messages they are your choice.
Custom maps
Does your app use Apple or Google maps or are you looking to create a beautiful custom map? If latter is your choice then checkout Mapbox and create an account with them. Through their system you’ll be able to customize apps to fit the exact style of your app.
Chat
There are many ways how you can go about building a chat inside your app. Our favorite app is to use Sendbird. They will provide a secure stable platform for your chat and great analytics to go with it.
Email automation
Often times you’d like to send a welcome email to your newly registered users. Depending on your marketing strategy you might to just simply code such email or use Mailchimp to combine all users into a marketing list that will be used for sending your welcome email and further marketing thereafter.
